Moving vehicles that that form ad-hoc communication networks to communicate between themselves require a means to determine neighbor vehicle locations in forming the ad-hoc communication network. One method used to determine neighbor vehicle locations is through message exchange wherein the messages include location information and ID information of the nodes (vehicles). Algorithms are applied to the received messages to perform neighbor discovery and routing determinations. However, the overhead (location and ID information) needed in each message for neighbor discovery and routing determinations can take up a large amount of the bandwidth. This limits the amount of other (payload data) that can be sent. Moreover, the complexity of algorithms can use up a lot of processing resources. It is desired to minimize the amount of bandwidth and processing resources used in forming an ad-hoc communication network so that resources can be freed up for other functions.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for an effective and efficient method of forming and operating an ad-hoc communication network.